Observe restraint in reporting violence: IB

New Delhi, Aug 9: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday Aug 9 appealed to news channels to observe restraint while reporting events of violent protest by people.

Addressing the Second News Television Summit here, Secretary of the Ministry Sushma Singh said,''In the recent past, television reporting of violent protests in the country has given some cause for worry. She said the channels, while reporting such events should take care to see that peace and harmony was not disturbed.'' She stressed the need for having in place a TV content code and some redressal mechanism as soon as possible in view of the large number of complaints against some TV programmes being received from the civil society.

She said the government was also under pressure from the court and Parliament to bring in some check on TV programmes dishing out sex, crime and violence.

Referring to the attempts by the government to bring in such a code and the resistence by the news broadcasters against it, the Secretary said, they should cooperate with the Ministry in this task.

Ms Singh, however, said she had received some suggestions from the News Broadcasters Association and Indian Bradcasting Foundation, and added there was a need for consensus on this issue. A final decision on the issue is yet to be taken by the Ministry, she added.

She said the government has to report to the Delhi High Court the progress in this matter and hoped the news broadcasters would help to arrive at a consensus, before it goes to the court with its report.

She said the government's non-interference in the contents of TV programmes would be ideal but for immediate practical purposes it has to play its role.

The summit was organised by Indian Television dotcom.

UNI